ET Wealth’s panel of experts answers questions related to any aspect of personal finance, sent by the readers every week. If you too have a query, mail it to us at [email protected].
I have been investing lump sum amounts and through SIPs in mutual funds since my retirement in 2006. I have redeemed some investments as well. To know the actual status of my investments, should I contact the offices of the funds I invest in or broking companies like Karvy or Cams? NSDLs CAS reports do not seem to cover all my investments. What should I do?
Jayant R. Pai, CFP and Head – Products, PPFAS Mutual Fund, responds: It is commendable that you have been investing steadily since 2006. The NSDL CAS is a relatively recent development. If the CAS appears incomplete, try the mail-back services for investors offered on www.camsonline.com. This will help you monitor your transactions as well as unit balances in all Indian funds (even those not serviced by CAMS). However, for capital gains you will have to separately visit CAMS, Karvy (Finkart) and Franklin Templeton’s websites or apps for the funds they cater to. This issue too could be obviated if the figures are available within Form 26AS.
I am a senior citizen. Should I invest in a short term debt mutual fund which has negative cash holding in its portfolio or in some zero-coupon bonds?
Vidya Bala, Co-Founder, PrimeInvestor.in, responds: If you have invested in the Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme, PM Vaya Vandana Yojana and RBI floating rate bond, then you can consider a high quality short to medium duration fund depending on your time frame. Without knowing which fund you are referring to, we cannot say if a negative cash holding is bad. A debt fund that uses interest rate derivatives can have negative cash balance. Hence, if you are not sure, go for one that looks fine in credit quality and cash. As interest rates are near bottom, if you buy bonds in the secondary market, you may be risking a high entry price point. So unless you are aware of the debt market, avoid it entirely.
